Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A confused pushing or struggle; a disorderly rencounter or fight.
  • noun Synonyms Affray, Brawl, etc. See quarrel.
  • noun A form of garden hoe or thrust-hoe which is pushed instead of pulled, and commonly has a narrow, sharp blade set nearly in line with the handle: used for cutting off weeds beneath the surface of the ground.
  • noun A child's pinafore or bib.
  • To use a scuffle or thrust-hoe.
  • To push or fight in a disorderly or scrambling manner; struggle confusedly at close quarters.
  • Synonyms See quarrel, n.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To strive or struggle with a close grapple; to wrestle in a rough fashion.
  • intransitive verb Hence, to strive or contend tumultuously; to struggle confusedly or at haphazard.
  • noun A rough, haphazard struggle, or trial of strength; a disorderly wrestling at close quarters.
  • noun Hence, a confused contest; a tumultuous struggle for superiority; a fight.
  • noun Prov. Eng. A child's pinafore or bib.
  • noun Prov. Eng. A garden hoe.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A rough disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters
  • noun A Dutch hoe, manipulated by both pushing and pulling
  • noun archaic A child's pinafore or bib.
  • verb intransitive To fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters.
  • verb intransitive To walk with a shuffling gait.
  • verb slang To make a living with difficulty, getting by on a low income, to struggle financially.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb walk by dragging one's feet
  • noun an unceremonious and disorganized struggle
  • noun disorderly fighting
  • noun a hoe that is used by pushing rather than pulling
  • verb fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Possibly of Scandinavian origin. Compare Swedish skuff ("a push") and skuffa ("to push"), from the Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ).

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